


ties that bind

by b_minor



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: ???? i guess?????, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-12-01 19:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20867996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/b_minor/pseuds/b_minor
Summary: The bread clip’s gone missing.





	ties that bind

**Author's Note:**

> This all started because of a joke answer about Lio's earring by Shigeto Koyama (the character designer). [Read all about it here](https://twitter.com/kalai_chik/status/1178856875950891008?s=20). Shout out to Tori for showing me this cursed tweet in the first place!
> 
> A bit late but this also coincides with the Inktober Day 1 Prompt: Ring

The bread clip’s gone missing.

Lio sighs quietly to himself while expertly twisting the bread bag, knotting it so that the remaining slices wouldn’t dry up. He glances to the couch, where Galo lies sprawled out like a particularly buff octopus, snoring away as if he weren’t the obvious culprit for crimes against perfectly good bread. To be fair, it’d been a particularly grueling day of city reconstruction with the rest of Burning Rescue. That work had been followed by a visit to the temporary settlement that had been set up for the former Burnish in the remains of the now-abandoned Parnassus; one that wound up lasting longer than expected as the younger residents insisted that Galo and Lio play with them. 

More specifically, to make PANTZILYAZ with them. Or as what people older than twelve who weren’t named Galo Thymos would call them, bread clip earrings.

\-- 

Though they are no longer constantly on the run, in the aftermath of the destruction of Promepolis resources remain scarce to some degree. Using whatever was on hand to entertain the kids becomes simply par for course. For someone with such a large and loud presence, Galo is surprisingly deft with his hands, and teaches them ways to fold small scraps of paper into birds, planes, and flowers. He claims that they are techniques from the Far East passed down for generations. After his spiel, the children always nod solemnly in understanding before they rush off to see whose plane would fly the furthest. 

Another time, the two of them are helping to prep sandwiches for the night’s dinner rations when Galo picks up a bread clip from one of the emptied sandwich bags, then turns it thoughtfully in his hands a few times before clipping it onto his ear. Snatching a napkin, he tucks it under his sleeve strap. He grins, smug. 

“I am Lio Fotia and I like belts and leather and high heeled boots. Also I have a cravat.”

Lio wants to punch the guy. Instead he settles for just rolling his eyes. Gueira yells at him from the other end of the sandwich assembly table not to insult the Boss that way. (Lio keeps telling him and Meis that he can just call him by name now but it’s a habit they’ve yet to break.)

The kids, on the other hand, are very impressed and insist that Galo help them make their own earrings. Decorating bread ties and wearing them becomes another way for the ex-Burnish kids to pass the time and soon there are groups of kids running around with customized PANTZILYAZ. Galo insists that the name is entirely capitalized.

\-- 

Galo’s taken up bread clip decorating himself, and it’s heartwarming to see the childrens’ eyes light up at new accessories. This is the first time he’s stolen the little plastic square before the bread bag is even empty, though. Lio leans over the back of the couch, frowning at the other man’s sleeping face. Even after they’ve fought together, worked together, heck been living together for almost half a year now, Lio still can’t fully wrap his head around the existence that is Galo Thymos.

“If you’re going to sleep at least take a shower first, idiot,” he says, gently flicking Galo’s forehead. Galo’s brows furrow and he groans.

“Mm, five more minutes...even a burning soul’s gotta rest if it wants to stay strong.”

“The old lady down the hall’s going to use up all the hot water in this building if you don’t hurry up and you know it.”

Another grumble, and Galo slowly, blearily blinks his eyes open. Then, without warning, he grabs Lio’s wrists and tugs him forward. Lio is helpless against the other man’s sheer density and momentum and tumbles on top of him, immediately locked into the other man’s embrace.

“L-let go, I just took a shower and you still stink!” he says. He tries to wriggle out of the larger man’s hold. Galo only squeezes more, and nuzzles into his (still damp) hair.

“You smell good.”

“You would too if you got up and took a bath already!”

“Noope, I’ll just hold onto you and let your good smell rub off on me.” 

Galo’s got such a huge, dopey grin on his face that Lio doesn’t know how to respond. So he deflates, then wriggles just enough to get comfortable seeing as he’s trapped here in the meantime. “You took the bread tie off and didn’t close the bag properly.”

As usual, Galo’s expressions are so sincere that you could almost see the lightbulb above his head as his eyes widen. 

“Oh, right!” he replies. 

Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out the missing piece of plastic. Unlike his previous little crafting projects, a lot of changes have been made to this one. The corners have been rounded out, and the inner circumference is wider as well.

“Are you branching out into hoop earrings now?” asks Lio.

The question earns a splutter from Galo, who recovers quickly and shakes his head. “I’ll show you.”

With surprising gentleness, he takes Lio’s hand and slips the little circle around his ring finger. It’s pretty loose. Galo seems to have noticed this as well since he lets out a disappointed groan and scratches his head. “Aaaah I should’ve measured before I cut! The cardinal rule of crafting!”

Lio continues to stare at the ring. Yes, it’s big, but the delicate stained glass inspired design etched into it (in what he suspects is a combination of ball point pen and highlighters) is colored in a gorgeous mix of cyan, magenta, and yellow reminiscent of the flames he had as a Burnish. 

Also. Galo put it on his left hand. 

“Galo...is there something you wanted to tell me?” he asks, carefully as he traces the slightly rough curves of the ring. His heartbeat quickens when a patch of red builds on the bridge of Galo’s nose and spreads to his ears and neck.

Galo clears his throat. To his credit, he’s making direct eye contact even as he’s blushing all over. “Lio, we’ve gotten a lot done together since we met, right?”

“...we have, yeah.”

“What if we keep doing that forever? Even after we finish rebuilding the city there’s always going to be something else to do. Someone else to help.” Galo’s holding both of Lio’s hands in his own, and they’re warm. Almost like the warmth of the presence the Promare had while inhabiting his body. “I want you to be there, too. It can’t be Lio de Galon without both of us! Also let’s get married!”

“Galo de Lion is fine, too,” he says without missing a beat. He leans his forehead against Galo’s and smiles. “And yeah, I’d like that.”

Galo’s grin is blinding.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to talk promare with me on [twitter](twitter.com/bflat_minor)~


End file.
